'Google' is a boy! Indonesian couple name baby after tech giant

KUALA LUMPUR — In Indonesia, a name is believed to carry hopes and prayers, leading parents to choose meaningful names for their offspring.

However, sometimes, this belief may lead them to pick hilarious names that the baby has to deal with for the rest of his life.

Adding to the growing list of Indonesian babies with unique names, including “Asian Games”, “Selamat Hari Natal”, “Andi Go To School” and “Alhamdulillah Lanang Anakku”, a couple from Bekasi Regency in West Java decided to name their newborn son after tech giant Google.

Baby “Google” was born on Nov 30 last year to parents, Mr Andi Cahya Saputra, 31, and Mdm Ella Karina, 27.

He is the first and only member of the family with an unusual search engine-inspired name as his older sister also has an ordinary Indonesian name.

Speaking to Indonesian news portal Kumparan, Andi said the idea of naming his son after a tech giant first crossed his mind when his wife was seven months pregnant.

Andi added that besides Google, he had Microsoft, iPhone, iOs, Windows and many others in mind.

“From religion, we considered the names of the prophet, and from the more usual names, we also considered ‘Albar Dirgantara Putra’,” he said.

“But when he was finally born, something in my heart told me the name ‘Albar Dirgantara Putra’ wouldn’t suit him. At last, I took a name from the technology category,” Mr Andi said.

However, Mr Andi said people close to him, including his wife, had reservations about the name Google.

His father also objected to his grandson’s strange name, and asked Mr Andi to give Google a last name for administrative purpose, but Mr Andi refused as he believed it would alter the essence of the name.

“I told my father, ‘Pak (Father), Google has a great meaning, because I hope Google can help many people, become a useful person to others,’” Mr Andi said.

Mr Andi said he’s surprised that his son’s name is still the subject of the media even six months after his birth, and admitted that he still receives flak for it. MALAY MAIL